District 157-C: State About $1M Behind in Payments

Like many other school districts in Illinois, Frankfort School District 157-C is coping with delayed payments from the state.

But the district doesn't rely as heavily on state dollars as some others do, said School Board Treasurer Curt Saindon at a regular meeting Monday, May 16.

Saindon shared the news during his treasurer's report, noting the budget is normal for this time of year, but slightly down. The state gives about $2.5 million to the district, which has a $36 million annual budget.

The delay "isn't causing us massive problems," Saindon said.

Still, "the state is just under $1 million behind in paying us," he explained.

That has been a persistent problem in the last three years, said Superintendent Thomas Hurlburt.

"And generally, what payments we do receive are often a year behind," Hurlburt said. "So budgeting wise, it's really very difficult. We've gone ahead and anticipated that — [of] what they promise us — we budget about half of that."

Over the past two fiscal years, the district has been able to cut about $1.2 million in costs and is expected to shave another $850,000 for next year, the superintendent said. 

"So by addressing all of our line items, we've been able to make reductions of about $2 million," he added. "It's been done in such a way that it's not affecting class sizes or student instruction or anything like that. We've really tried to make sure it's not obvious to the community."